GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
Summary
Seven Republican senators have announced a plan to curb the Obama administration's push to impose controversial Net neutrality regulations on the Internet.
Topics
On Wednesday, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina and six other GOP senators introduced legislation (PDF) that would dramatically limit the Federal Communications Commission's ability to regulate broadband providers.
"The FCC's rush to takeover the Internet is just the latest example of the need for fundamental reform to protect consumers," DeMint said in a statement. Without this legislation, DeMint said, the FCC will "impose unnecessary, antiquated regulations on the Internet."
The new bill--called the Freedom for Consumer Choice Act, or FCC Act--doesn't eliminate the FCC's power over broadband providers. But that power would be narrowed in scope, and come to resemble the antitrust enforcement power of the Department of Justice.
For more on this story, read GOP senators move to block FCC on Net neutrality on CNET News.
Talkback Most Recent of 41 Talkback(s)
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GOP Bill: End of Internet Liberty
Holy cow! These Republicans truly are possessed... by the spirit of the devil. Net neutrality is MY RIGHT to use whatever web site I damn well want too. These Republicans say consumers should only have access to the LIMITED SET of web sites that the ISP has a financial interest in. They can go to hell.
JohnVoter22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@never mind - posted in wrong place...
Carrion22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@JohnVoter
Liberalism is a mental disease,
Please check yourself in.
tvman@...22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@tvman@...
The day I say "ISPs should limit CHOICE of what internet sites I can go to", then I will need mental help. Hint, hint.JohnVoter22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
Johnvoter,
You misunderstand their position. They don't want to limit what you have access to. On the contrary. Conservatives are all about freedom. They know, from history, that when the governmant gets involved, prices go up and unintnded consequences cause service degredation. They're trying to prevent that. They are not evil. Stop the hate.
Software Architect 198222nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
To Digital Video Expert:
Thank you ... it's sad that most colleges now indoctrinate students into the { Republicans, corporations, capitalists } = EVIL mindset.
Naive socialist teachers forget or ignore two facts: capitalism (and only capitalism) provides the incentive to innovate, and freedom provides the opportunity to make innovations real.
Bloated, wasteful, and intrusive central government kills both opportunity AND innovation.
Churlish22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@Churlish
Right, "socialist teachers". Because you think that the corporations should have voting rights and be free of taxes. How about those "socialist insurance agents" who encourage us to buy socialist insurance where we share the financial risk of getting into an auto accident? How about those "socialist civil engineers" who built community wide water purification and sewage treatment plants? How about those "socialist soldiers" who provide a shared defense of the United States?
When teabaggers describe health insurance for all Americans as "socialist", is that their way of saying that socialist is a good thing?JohnVoter22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@Churlish thats because the republicans tell us they will cut spending, and lower taxes, they lowered taxes, and increased spending, (BTW not a dem here just a fact monger, actually I am libertarian) the corporations and capitalist were the ones who helped to run our economy into the ground because of their greed, every plan has issues that need to be dealt with, and greed is at the heart of all of them, in a perfect world you will get that, but the fact is we are a capitalistic society, and we have the slower internet that estonia, ESTONIA, I mean seriously, if it worked that great we would have the fastest internet available and we dont, because its like all the ISP's care about is making money and not innovating net products until they are forced to..... hmmmmmmmm
nickdangerthirdi@...22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@Churlish
The ISPs should be limited to provide a dumb, but fast, pipeline to the internet.
When they start getting it in their heads that they can make (MUCH) more money by limiting our choice of what phone-over-internet service, or camera shop, or search engine we can use (because they have a financial relationship with certain web sites) THEY ARE MOTIVATED TO LIMIT OUR CHOICE or slow down the response time to competing web sites.
Say after me: Conflict of Interest.JohnVoter22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@Churlish: After watching the wonderful effects of deregulation on companies like BP, Enron, and all those "too big to fail" financial institutions, I would question who's naive. What a capitalist/democratic system requires is the right amount of government, so we kill neither opportunity nor, more importantly, people.
rrusson_z26th Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@Digital Video Expert
Net neutrality IS THE PRINCIPLE THAT INTERNET USERS CAN USE WHATEVER WEB SITE THEY CHOOSE.
This is the way that the internet has always been, but the ISPs want to CHANGE THE STATUS QUO so that they SLOW DOWN or disconnect the consumer from web sites, except for those that the ISP has a vested financial interest in.
That is the exact opposite of internet liberty, regardless of your anti-American Government belief system.
By the way, the civil rights act of 1967 imposed regulations on public accommodations, like hotels and restaurants. AMERICA WAS MADE A BETTER AND MORE FREE PLACE by this law.
The Americans with Disabilities Act imposed new regulations on all businesses that are open to the public. AMERICA WAS MADE A BETTER AND MORE FREE PLACE.
Your brand of politics should have died with George Wallace's change of heart on segregation. (He finally admitted that federal laws IMPOSING open access to schools, etc were the right thing to do.)
I guess some people are so blinded by their hatred of the American Government, that they can't see why Wallace changed his mind.JohnVoter22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@Digital Video Expert Dude what they are trying to do is allow the providers to control their content much like what Comcast did by dropping bit torrent packets because they felt they were wasting bandwidth, TRUE net neutrality (not even what this bill the Dem proposed is) is when everyones traffic has the same importance, no body's traffic gets dropped, or lowered in priority, which is what the ISP's want to be able to do, and what the republicans are trying to allow for, nope screw em both...nickdangerthirdi@...22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@nickdangerthirdi@...
I have no idea why you think the Dems are not fighting for "true net neutrality". Your definition of net neutrality sounds just like mine.
Now, I do think that ISPs have the right to limit the amount of data we use, but such limits should be imposed without discriminating for or against any internet site the consumer chooses.
As I argued above ("Net Neutrality and Taco Stands"), it the ability of the consumer to freely choose whatever innovative new service they want that has given us this amazing crucible of innovation.JohnVoter22nd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@Digital Video Expert GOP wants freedom? You must be thinking of the Patriot Act.
epitax23rd Jul 2010 -
RE: GOP senators out to derail FCC on net neutrality
@Digital Video Expert
You got another thing coming if you want to believe that. The Conservatives aren't all about freedom - remember the Patriot Act? Also, the Telcos and Cable companies (which are pretty much one and the same anymore) want control over the content you view, to the point where certain content providers - content providers that pay into a system of contracts that support the isp - are given a larger pipe than other providers that either don't have the contract or aren't big enough to even be offered the contract. It's not about freedom, it's about the almighty dollar, and when Corporations anywhere are given the right to police themselves, it's a matter of time before prices go up and quality, speed, and service go down.
And "Stop the hate." What the...?! Seriously, conservatives have been the hater spewers as of late. You should change the channel from Faux News, because your perspective is way off.
nix_hed25th Jul 2010
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